Toy



N. J. SERAPHINE.

TOY. APPLICATION FILED APR.26,19B.

1,369,556; Patented Feb. 22,1921.

barren STATES PATENT oFFIcn,

moons J. SERAIHINE, or YO N. Y.

' TOY.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NIooLA J SERAPHINE,

rendered the toys unsuited for use by very young children. 'As an instance, one objectionable feature that has usually appeared involves the use OfreSetting devices after each operationto-place theapparatus in condition for a following operation. The

principal object of the present invention is accordingly to provide a simplified toy of the general type referred to that can be manipulated by very young as well as by children of more advanced years.

.IVith this and other objects in view,"on'e feature of theinvention consists in the provision of a toy having an inclined runway and a pivoted figure mounted in such rela-.

tion to the runway as to be rocked about its I pivot by a ball rollingdown'said runway, and means for' automatlcallybringlng sald figure back to its normal position after an operation.

Another may be readily taken apart and folded together for convenience in packing.

In the drawings, y 1 V Figure l is a view in'perspective of a device embodying the invention in a preferred form.

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view of the device taken along the line 2-2 of Fig.1.

Fig. 3 is" a fragmentary detailed view showing a pivotal mounting for aportion of the device.

hereto- Y feature of the invention consists in the provision of means whereby the toy' Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb, 22, 1921,

Application filed April 26, 1918. Serial No. 230,883.

perspective a view of an embodiment of a preferred form of the invention in which the trough-shaped runway 1, formed preferably of sheet metal, is mounted on removable legs or standards 2 at such an inclination to'the horizontal that a ball 3 placed onthe runway at its higher end will roll swiftly along the concave surface'thereo'fthrough the action of gravity; In order toadd to the in terest of actuating the toy and tofurnish an additional object for causing the ball to roll down the runway,I preferably provide a target or figure such as is indicated at 4 and which is mounted in a suitable" position opposite the lower end of the runway, where it will be engaged by the ball as it' is'projected from the end of the runway 1 by the momentum acquired in its descent. V

The figure 4, which is shown in this instance as representing a clown holding-a baseball bat, is preferably pivotally mounted so that the figure is rocked backward about the pivots 5 plac'edin" positions coinciding with the heels of-the figure. In order to prevent the figure from tilting backward beyond a certain predetermined angle, stop lugs 6- are preferably provided which are adapted to "engage the support 7 on-whi'ch the figure is mounted to thereby define" one of the limits of movement for the'figure, as. will be obvious. Not only are means provided for limiting the extent of tilting of the figure, but I also'pro'vide means for caus ing the figure to assume its normal upright positionwhen the force of impact ofthe striking ball has "been dissipated. This: means preferably takes the form of gro tesque feet 8 with which the figure i is provided and which are formed of lead orother comparatively heavy material- It will be seen that the weighted feet '8 are arranged to'project to such an extent to the front of.- the figure that they Will exert a substantial tendencyfto bring the figure back to its normal position from any positionto which it may-have been deflected; :While the'parti'cular means shown for returning the figure to its normal position is adequate for the purpose in View, it will be obvious that'other means widely differing from the particular ones shown may be'employed'for biasing the figure to its upright position.

The support 7 for the figure 4, to which reference has already been made, is preferably formed by a runway similar in most tion of movement of a ball rolling along the.

upper runway 1. As will be seen the runway 7 is suspended beneath the upper runway 1- by means of the chains'or other flexible members 9 so as to provide a return path for a ball that has traversed the length of theupper runway 1 and has rebounded from contact with the target figure 4. Not only do the chains 9 serve to support thelower runway 7 beneath the upper runway 1 in position to receive a ball that hasrolled down the upper runway, but the flexible means of suspension provides also. for obtaining a slight impulse or throw on the part of the lower runway 7 and the figure 4 carriedby it as the full impact of the ball is received by the figure. The swinging impulse thusimparted to the lower runway as the'ball strikes the figure adds to the interest of a child in the toy and enhances its attractiveness.

Still another purpose served by providing flexible supports for the lower runway resides in theprovision which is thus made for folding the toy into a small space to facilitate its packing for shipment or any other purpose. A further extension of this idea resides in the provision of tubular sockets 10 in which the upper ends of thestandards 2 are held and from which the standards can be readily removed when it is desired to dismount the device for packing or the like.

Preferably horizontally arranged chain members 11 serve to prevent the lateral spreading of the standards 2 and one of t ese members is so placed above the lower end of the returnrunway as to provide a support fora suitable bell 12 which is thereby placed in the path of the returning balls 7 to be engaged and sounded thereby. A receptacle such as 13 may be placed at the delivery end of the return runway in which to receive the balls if desired.

It will be seen from theforegoing description that a toy has been producedthat is particularly designed to furnish amusement to very young as well as to children of more advanced years. A set of three of the balls would ordinarily be provided which may be colored red, white and blue re spectively, and the, action of each ballv as it rolls down the upper runway to be apparbell before it drops from the end of the run way, is such as to afford the keenest delight to a child.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. A toy comprising: an inclined runway,

a support therefor, a runway mounted beneath said first named runway and inclined in the opposite direction, one end of the lower runway extending beyond the adjacent end of the upper runway, and a figure mounted on the extended end of the lower runway, whereby a ball rolled down said upper runway will strike said figure and be deflected thereby into the return path afforded by said lower runway. V

2. A toy comprising: an inclined runway, a support therefor, a runway mounted beneath said first named runway and inclined in the opposite direction, one end of the lower runwayextending beyond the adjacent end of the upper runway, and a figure pivotally mounted on the extended end of the lower runway opposite the end of the upper runway, whereby a ball rolled down rock the same about its pivot, and means for rocking the figure back to its normal positi0n., I

3. A toy comprising: an inclined runway,

a support'therefor, a second runway sus second runway.

4. A toy comprising: an inclined runway, a support therefor, a second runway suspended from said first named runway and inclined in the opposite direction, a bell mounted adjacent the lower end of the second named runway, the higher end of the lower runway extending beyond the adjacent lower end of the upper runway, and a' figure pivotally mounted on'the extended upper end of the lower runway, whereby a ball rolled along said upper runway will strikesaid figure totilt the same about its axis and also be deflected by said figure into the return path afforded by said lower runway and into engagement with said bell.

Signed at New York, in the county and State of New York, this 15 day of April, 1918. I NIOOLA J. SERAPHINEV said upper runway will strikesaid figure and r 

